Category Archives: Élisire Parfums

I’ve tried a number of fragrances that didn’t work for me over the last eight months, but not all of them were actually bad scents. Although I scrubbed all of them off, a few were things that I actually think some of you might like quite a bit. The problem in each case (for me) was that the fragrance had one or more elements which pushed one of my hot button issues, and did so in a way that not only felt imbalanced but, quite frequently, also made the scents physically difficult to test.

Perfume reviewing is a wholly subjective thing that is dependent on individual tastes, experiences, and skin chemistry, but it’s not easy to write about scrubbers in exhaustive detail, one after another. (And I’ve gone through a lot of scrubbers in the last 8 months that I haven’t talked about.) For many of the fragrances mentioned in this post, I lacked the heart and will to write thousands of words for one of my usual reviews, and didn’t want to cover them even in one of my short(er) Reviews en Bref because I wasn’t keen to relive the experience. Yet, as I said, some of you might like a few of the fragrances quite a bit — like the new Cilice from Euphorium Brooklyn which should appeal to lovers of dark, smoky, woody, and campfire fragrances. Two of the scents are things that I would sincerely recommend to people with a very particular taste set to try for themselves.

Imagine sunset on a distant island called Ambre Nomade. As the air hangs thick and heavy with gold warmth, ocean waves ripple upon the island’s dark, hulking cliffs made from thick, solid labdanum. Each wave brings new adventures and nomadic smells, starting first with fresh aromatics from rosemary, lavender and sage. The next is apple, followed by ginger, woods, and vanilla, each one taking turns to transform the island mass, each one ebbing and flowing, creating constant sea changes, never the same way twice. As the sun sets, high tide gives way to a darker and simpler picture where the amber is sultan over his domain, surrounded by aromatic herbal courtiers and vanilla handmaidens, all speaking in hushed voices in his mighty golden presence. This is now a familiar tale, told often and long ago, but it is still a beautiful one, marked by richness and opulence. It’s the story of Ambre Nomade, and the narrator is Élisire.